Harold Meachum
Monster |species = Human |citizenship = |gender = Male |title = CEO of Rand Enterprises (former) |age = 53 (biologically 41) |DOB = March 1962Iron Fist: 1.01: Snow Gives Way |DOD = 2003 (later resurrected) 2016 (twice; resurrected first time) |affiliation = Hand (formerly, unwillingly) |tv series = Iron Fist (11 episodes) |actor = David Wenham |status = Deceased}} Harold Meachum was a ruthless businessman who built up Rand Enterprises with his friend Wendell Rand. However Meachum's greed led him to make a deal with Madame Gao to have the Rands murdered, and when he was diagnosed with cancer, he agreed to help the Hand in exchange for his life. Meachum was brought back from the dead and forced to live in hiding, controlling his former company through his own son Ward Meachum. Upon the return of Danny Rand, who was now the Iron Fist, Meachum saw a chance to return to his old life and manipulated Iron Fist into fighting the Hand for him, allowing him to kill Bakuto and have Gao disappear while Meachum returned to New York City and betrayed Rand. His plans were eventually uncovered and Meachum was finally killed by his own son while fighting against the Iron Fist. Biography Early Life Building Rand Enterprises As a young man, Heachum met and decided to build a business with his friend Wendell Rand. The business they ended up creating was Rand Enterprises for which they built the headquarters within New York City. However Meachum forever felt a sense of hatred and resentment towards his friend, as the day they first stepped onto the roof of their new building, Meachum felt a desire to push his friend off the roof and kill him, although he did not. Meachum continued working with Rand at the business, as the pair of them had children, as Meachum having kids named Ward and Joy while Rand had a son named Danny, who they groomed to take over the company some day in the future. Deal with the Hand Cancer Diagnosis Meachum was diagnosed with terminal cancer and faced the fear of death, as he was widowed with two children to raise. During his treatment which was not helping him, Meachum was approached by Madame Gao who claimed she had a way of curing his death. Meachum agreed and also requested that Gao assists him in killing his business partner, so she arranged a plane crash which killed Wendell and Heather Rand while their son Danny Rand disappeared in the mountains. Meachum continued suffering from his illness for three years, being cared for by Ward and Joy Meachum who would turn him over in bed to stop him getting bed sores, however eventually he died from cancer. Only a few days later, Meachum rose from the dead as Gao had promised and the Hand began forcing him to live in hiding, controlling Rand Enterprises for the Hand's benefit through his son Ward who was the only one to know of his survival.Iron Fist: 1.04: Eight Diagram Dragon PalmIron Fist: 1.13: Dragon Plays with Fire Controlling Ward Meachum To be added Investigating Danny Rand Hearing from Ward that a homeless man calling himself Danny Rand was harassing War and Joyce, Harold put him in a mental hospital. With cameras installed to monitor the man, Meachum carefully watched him, wondering if he was really Danny. Gao's house call To be added Meeting Danny To be added Loosing a Pinkie Gao sent to men over to question Meachum on why he visited Danny Rand in the mental hospital. Initially, Meachum played dumb, until the men held him down and informed him that they were there to punish him by chopping off a finger. Meachum still denied any involvement with Rand until Rand himself entered the penthouse. Taking advantage of the two attacker's surprise of Rand's appearance, Meachum grabbed a knife from the table and proceeded to stab his attackers, with Rand's help he was able to slit their throats. He justified himself to Danny saying that they were going to kill him first and acted in self-defense. Knowing that Gao would be suspicious if he had not been punished, he sliced off his pinkie to his great discomfort. Ward soon came by, to find him with a hammer bludgeoning the corpses beyond recognition. He ordered Ward to dispose of the bodies in a swamp. Killed by Ward When Ward attempts to flee Rand, he is informed that his bank account is empty. Ward goes to the penthouse to confront Harold- who he assumes is responsible. Harold admits responsibility for emptying the account, but states that it was for Ward's own good, and he'd regret it the rest of his life if he'd followed through in running away from Rand. Harold tries to convince Ward that he should be happy of almost being rid of The Hand. Ward tells Harold that the last happy day of his life was when Harold died. Harold was greatly hurt by this comment, and he struck Ward in stomach as punishment. Harold went on to rant on how everything Ward has, Harold had provided. Harold attempts to show Ward the files Danny got on Gao's operations;however, Ward is pushed over the edge, and he grabs a knife and brutally stabs Harold to death. Ward dumped his body in the same swamp that he previously dumped The Hand members. Coming back to Life Personality Despite his revival and imprisonment by the Hand, Harold Meachum retains a cheery, fatherly demeanor towards his children Joy and Ward, assistant Kyle and Danny Rand (initially) treating the latter two like his own children. However, he has shown to prefer harsh levels of punishments which he claims is because of his father belting him when he was young yet Meachum still loved and respected him for it. He often verbally and physically reprimanded Ward for his disobedience and, according to Ward has been harsh towards him his entire life though Meachum claims it was to make him a great man, Ward hated him nonetheless. When he murdered Kyle, Meachum claimed it was because of ingratitude for buying him ice cream like a father would do. It later becomes clear that his resurrection from death has turned him into a violent maniac as shown in his homicidal reaction to perceived or fictional crimes against himself and his family. Even before being revived, Meachum showed some villainous tendencies such as having an urge to push Wendell Rand off their building when they were overlooking New York City together. He was ruthless enough to kill his best friend and business partner along with his entire family to gain full control of Rand Enterprises but opportunistic enough to accept the Hand's offer to bring him back to life after his cancer kills him. This is a similar situation when he used Danny Rand to free him from the Hand's captivity and later betrays Rand despite his love for Meachum. Ultimately, Harold Meachum's manipulative and selfish nature destroyed any hope of love from the Rands and his own family. Regardless of his ruthless and abusive attitude towards Ward and Danny, Meachum has shown genuine love towards his daughter Joy. After his first resurrection, he initially wanted to tell Joy that he was alive but Ward wouldn't let him due to the potential danger he posed to her but immediately did after his second revival. When Joy, Ward and Harold were held captive by Bakuto and the Hand, Meachum, with a sword at his neck, asks about his daughter's condition after she was non-fatally shot rather than himself. However, he also apologises for choosing Ward over Joy his life, implying he spent more time with Ward or saw more potential in him for great things than he did Joy. Powers and Abilities Powers *'Resurrection': Harold Meachum made a deal with The Hand wherein he will be cured of cancer in exchange for his loyalty. The Hand kept their promise and helped cure him by giving him the power to resurrect whenever he died. It took time for him to recover from whatever kill him, though no damage inflicted on him would be permanent after he resurrected. Unfortunately, as a side-effect, Meachum would become more violent with each death and resurrection and his head needed to remain attached in order for him to come back, meaning that decapitation or cremation would kill him permanently. Abilities *'Expert Martial Artist': Meachum was proficient in boxing and was sometimes seen practicing with a punching bag or sparring with a trainer. Equipment To be added Relationships Family *Father † *Wife † *Ward Meachum - Son and Two Time Killer *Joy Meachum - Daughter Allies *Rand Enterprises - Employees **Megan *Davos - Situational Ally *Kevin Singleton - Bodyguard Enemies *Wendell Rand † - Former Friend, Business Partner and Victim *Heather Rand † - Former Friend and Victim *Danny Rand/Iron Fist - Former Friend turned Enemy and Attempted Victim *Hand - Allies turned Enemies **Madame Gao **Bakuto † **Alexi † - Victim **Vando † - Victim *Kyle † - Assistant and Victim *Colleen Wing *Lawrence Wilkins † - Victim *Yangshi Gongsi **Hai-Qing Yang *Jeri Hogarth Trivia *In the comics, Harold Meachum accompanied Wendell Rand, his wife Heather and their son Danny in an expedition to K'un-Lun, only to let Rand die in order to conquer the affection of Heather and Rand's share of business. His legs were amputated due to frostbite. When Iron Fist later confronted Harold Meachum, he decides to spare him from his revenge only for Harold to be killed by an unidentified ninja. Also in the comics, Ward Meachum is Harold's brother. References External Links * * Category:Iron Fist (TV series) Characters Category:Humans Category:Males Category:Blonde Hair Category:Blue Eyes Category:Executives Category:Rand Enterprises Leaders Category:Resurrected Characters Category:Deceased Characters Category:Characters Killed by Ward Meachum Category:Villains Category:Hand Members Category:Revived Characters